Puella Magi An-Mei Magica
by ReneeDenim
Summary: Yesterday, An-Mei was a girl struggling with a new school and old insanities. Today, she's a magical girl fighting against witches with Kyoko Sakura against the white magical girl; Oriko. Join An-Mei in this twist of Madoka, Oriko, and Kazumi magica. And watch as the world around An-Mei, as it falls to despair, leading into a darker age of humanity than anyone could've predicted.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: _The_ Girliest Uniform in the World

With every amount of hope you wish for, someone else must be equally cursed. That is how the universe keeps in equilibrium. A Mahou Shoujo who tried to bash my head in told me that once. I didn't really understand that at first, I thought it was just figurative speaking. But now I know that it's the equivalent to the world.

It's too bad though, that I'm seeing the world fall apart from despair now.

But I'm getting ahead of myself… I'm just going to start from the beginning.

April 9th

I was standing in a sea of people in front of Mitakihara Junior High School; while wearing the girliest uniform in the world… no not a girly uniform, _the_ girly uniform. It was a puffy sleeved shirt under a puffy sleeved beige vest with a red bow tie and a plaid pleated skirt. The only thing that wasn't originally apart of this uniform was the white gloves I wear on my hands because of… well… the incident…

Today is my first day here, and while most people would typically be nervous on their first day, I've been through this routine so many times I'm used to transferring to a new school. I'm just glad I got accepted somewhat close to the beginning of the year. But then again… this is kind of unusual in Japan.

But even though I've been to eleven different schools in my life time because of my parent's work and I've seen plenty of amazing looking schools, my wildest imagination could have never prepared me for this school. I say this because Mitakihara Middle looked more like some huge exotic glass mansion than a school.

I am so screwed.

I took a quick glance at my new student guide that I've looked over for about seventeen thousand times, and stared back up at the glass piece of work. How could such a fancy school accept… well… me? But hey, at least I was accepted despite of my… uh… reputation...

Well, maybe this will be different.

I took a deep breath and grinned. "Alright, a new school, and another chance to make friends" I said to myself. "Let's go…" Then I took my first steps onto the school.

The interior of the school was just as cool looking and exciting as the outside. Everywhere I went I saw pieces of art like statues and paintings that looked like they belonged in a museum, not a middle school. The halls were lined with glass windows peering into other parts of the school. Benches and tables lined the halls with students chatting about their lives sat. Boy… I really hope this school doesn't have a baseball team because one homerun could cause the deaths or injury of many students. "I'm gonna need a GPS just to find the exit…" I said in awe as I stared out a window that stared out into a portion of the school.

The classrooms were enclosed in glass walls and blue tiled floors. I waited outside my appointed classroom, E-1 and waited. Even though I had mustered together far more resolve than should be necessary for one's first day of classes, I still felt like I had a rock in my stomach. The thought of history repeating itself or the idea of these people knowing about my reputation, put me on edge. It doesn't help that I'm weirder than most kids.

For one thing, I only recently turned thirteen. In all of my other schools, I was placed one grade higher than other girls my age. The issue is because I loved school, reading in third grade and the fact I knew fluent German, Irish, and Chinese, and as well as English at the age of 8, the boards of the British and Japanese Educations put me in fifth grade when I should've been in fourth grade. Even though I'm normal age for students in Japan who are in the eighth grade, I still appear younger than everyone because of my odd appearance and the fact that my build is so small and delicate that I appear like a fifth grader. And I guess that wearing my light blonde hair in two low pony tails with a red head band adds to the fuel.

My appearance is as odd as my personality; my skin tone is between tan and pale, like flat in the middle of the two. And my eyes are two different colors; my right eye being a dark brown color and my left eye a very green color.

So yeah; smart and weird isn't exactly living the life lottery.

"Alright, you can come in now." A voice broke me out of my thoughts. Well now it's time to face these people head on. I straightened my back; shoulders back, and chin up like my dad always told me. Ok… I could do this.

I walked into the classroom and to the front of the whiteboard with way too much confidence than needed for one's first day. God damn it. But hey, the other students in E-1 were at least somewhat impressed. They all made noises of amazement and the occasional 'kawaii!'

"Alright then, everyone, this is our new transfer student." said the teacher standing next to me. She was a tiny woman, but still taller than me, with dark blonde hair and brown eyes behind red glasses. "Go on, introduce yourself."

I took a deep breath of mental preparation, and I put on my friendly face with a smile to boot. "My name is An-Mei N. Bleuspider." I did a small bow. "It's very nice to meet all of you." I took a marker from the board behind me and wrote the Japanese spelling for my name.

ホェイメイ

"My last name is pronounced 'blue' like '青' and 'spider' as in 'クモ'" I put the pen down and gave a final bow for the class.

Everyone awed in amazement and clapped.

"Ms. Bleuspider is joining us from the UK," the teacher gestured me to sit in a desk by to the right of a girl with short blue hair. The desks were really cool; they were retractable and came out of the floor. Technology can be amazing.

And then the questions came.

"Where in the UK did you live before moving here?" One girl with short brown hair asked.

"I moved a few times when I was there," I tried my best Japanese. I could say the language, but reading it is my weakness, especially anything in Kanji. "I lived in Blackpool for a while, and then in a town called Bangor, which is in Northern Ireland, and then finally London."

"Wooow!" a girl with black hair and glasses awed. "What's school like in the United Kingdom?"

"Um…" I couldn't quite interpret it. "Well, we get Saturdays off, and… it's very strict…"

"You're hair is such a cool color!" A girl with pig tails complimented. "Is that your natural hair color?"

"It is…" I awkwardly brushed a hand through my hair that went down to the middle of my back. "I'm… biracial, actually."

"Really?!" She asked, excitedly. "Smart, cool looking and incredibly cute, you've got everything!"

I gave an awkward laugh. "I wouldn't say that…"

The bell rang, ending our conversation.

As for the rest of the morning, everything went pretty well. I knew everything in Math and English. And in P.E. everything went well, I'm already athletic enough that I don't get tired right off the bat. So yeah, today wasn't bad.

Until lunch time… _then_ it started going downhill.

Where we eat in Mitakihara Middle, it looks like a restaurant. I found my own booth, and just as I was about to enjoy my food, I heard whispering from behind me.

"I thought Bleuspider was familiar, so I did research and I found out that Bleuspider was in the Promising Future's disappearances!"

"Oh that's right! I remember that five years ago! An entire class of fifth graders and their teacher went missing! The only two who were left were two students! And to think, they both go to our schools now!"

"I wonder what happened… the police withheld a lot of information to the public."

"Do you think Bleuspider is just as loony as the other one? What's her name again?"

I felt a chill roll across me… and a pang in my heart as the memories came flooding back…

I couldn't stand hearing this, so I left the lunch room without looking behind me. I didn't care where I went, just as long as I was away from here.

I ended up going to the roof of the school. It was somewhat Catholic style, and it shined a brilliant white. Pure really… how ironic…

I fell to my knees and stared up at the blue sky, wishing I could just get away from this place like the birds fly overhead.

Why…. Why does this have to happen…? Any chance… any chance at all of escaping just evaporates… any chances of just forgetting…

I hung my head. "Why… why couldn't I stop any of it, maybe they'd all be here if I wasn't so weak. I felt tears fall down my face and I furiously wiped them away with my hands encased in gloves. I stared down at them, wanting to be angry, but crying instead.

I hate being weak, is crying the only thing I can do? Why is it that whenever I try to face my memories I always break down into tears like a baby?! I hate it… I hate the fact that they're all gone, erased from history because of me, and all I can do about it is cry. I couldn't even help myself… and I hate myself for it.

Will I only be weak? I thought. Can I not help anyone?! Not even myself?! I stared back up at the heavens, tears still rolling down my face. "Is that my only purpose?!" I cried out loud, not caring who hears me or not. "Is crying and being weak the only thing I can be?!"

"It isn't, you can change that." A voice responded.

I blinked. "God…?" I wasn't expecting an answer.

"No, I'm not god." I looked down, and then shrieked and leapt backwards when I saw the white creature standing before me. In front of me was a small, cat-like creature, about two feet long (including tail). Its entire body is covered in often clean, white fur. It had, what appeared to be four ears; two that resemble an average cat, pointed and up, while the other two appear as long tassel-like appendages that split into three sections at their tip. The tassels fade from white to pink and have three red dots horizontally before the splits. They also bear a pair of floating golden rings. The most noticeable feature were two beady pink eyes with ark maroon irises and a tiny, sigma-shaped "cat mouth"

"Did you just talk?! What the hell are you?" I cried out. It was so creepy, yet oddly enough, it was cute.

"My apologies for scaring you, An-Mei." the cat-creature responded. "My name is Kyubey."

"Holy crap you did just talk!" I cried out. "How th- what th-"I couldn't even put words to sentence correctly. "And how do you know my name?!"

"I know many things about you An-Mei," the thing named Kyubey responded. "I've been observing you for about two days."

"You've been stalking me?!"

"Not stalking, per say, observing. I've been observing you from a distance."

"That still sounds like stalking!" I cried. "Why were you stalking me?!"

"Well," Kyubey finally blinked. It sounded like a boy… but it was more neutral. Kyubey, whatever he was, was emotionless. His voice harbored no emotion, and yet he seemed oddly cheerful. "I've been observing you, and now I've come to ask something of you."

"I don't take candy from strangers!" I said.

Kyubey sighed, but he still seemed patient. "I understand your shock right now, as you are a normal human." He blinked. "But not entirely normal… no, far from normal actually, but that's why I chose you."

"Chose me, for what?" I asked, starting to calm down.

"I want you to make a contract with me and become a magical girl!" Kyubey closed his eyes as he said it, making his appearance seem happier.

There was a silence between us as I took in what Kyubey had just said.

I didn't know how to respond, so all I said was "What?"

"Become a magical girl," Kyubey repeated. "All you have to do is agree to make a contract with me."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I don't make contracts without a lawyer."

"No, no, it's not a written contract." Kyubey began saying things that seemed fictional, things that shouldn't exist. But I didn't dare interrupt him. "An-Mei, if you agree to make a contract with me, you can be given the power of magic. You'll become a magical girl, and with your power, you'll be able to fight the despairs who roam the shadows of the world. And all you'd have to do to complete this contract is make a wish."

"Hold on a second!" I held a hand in the air to stop him. "Magic? That only exists in fiction! There's no way that it's real." But then again I am talking to some mutant cat thing… but then again I was half convinced that I was hallucinating.

"It is very real," Kyubey said. "You humans can be so alike; ignoring the fact that there are things in this world that your sciences can't explain. You, of all people, should believe more than anyone that there are unknown forces of this world that cannot be explained through simple equations. After all, that is what makes you unique as a human being."

He's right… I should believe… but the whole idea was so terrifying that I always turned the other direction.

"What do you mean by… despairs?" I asked.

Kyubey walked to the edge of the roof and stared out at the white city of Mitakihara. "In this world, there is hope and there is despair. Despair roams the shadows of the world, unseen, unknown for what they really are…" I walked to Kyubey's side and stared out at the city. "These despairs are more commonly known as witches. They lurk in the shadows of this world, and create the despairs that humans can't explain; murders with no motive, suicides with no reasons to why, and mysterious disappearances with no hope of recovery."

I looked at Kyubey; he seemed to know a lot more than I would most likely know. "But, why haven't people heard of these 'witches'?"

Kyubey turned his head to face me. "Witches hide in the shadows, the darkest corners of the world, unseen to humanity. And even if they were known to humanity, what could mere humans do? Your weapons and technology is no match for an unknown force."

"But surely-" I began to shout, but stopped, and said in a normal tone. "But surely, the world isn't ruled by these things, right?"

"The world isn't ruled by witches." Kyubey didn't blink; he seemed to stare into my soul. "For every bit of despair in this world, there is hope; that hope is magical girls."

"Magical girls, like in mangas?" I asked.

"No, any human in this world can hold the potential to become a magical girl. It isn't prewritten, it isn't chosen beforehand. Anyone can become a magical girl, and fight witches." He blinked. It almost made him normal. "But there are the rare occasions that a human can become a powerful magical girl. Like you; I've been observing you and there is no doubt in my mind that you will become a very powerful magical girl. At least, more powerful than most younger magical girls." He tilted his head to the side. "And if given enough time and training, perhaps you can even overpower one of the older magical girls."

"No," I forced myself to shake my head. "There's no way someone like me can become so powerful."

"It is possible," Kyubey said. "Even the desires you have now are enough to give you leverage. You are very unique as a human being, that's why I decided to approach you."

"My desires?" I asked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"In order to become a magical girl, you must make a wish."

"A wish?"

"Yes," he hopped down off the ledge and onto the ground, staring up at me. "In order to become a magical girl, you must make a wish. Anything you desire; wealth, fame, passion, anything you want. It doesn't even necessarily have to be for yourself, you can wish for someone you care about."

"It's that easy?" I blurted. "How is it that easy? Even so, it seems rather suspicious. It can't just be that easy."

"An-Mei," Kyubey's tail flicked a bit. "I already know the despair that lays buried within your heart. The feeling of 'weakness' is your greatest enemy, correct?" I felt everything in my system freeze. Kyubey went on. "A great shadow of despair follows your footsteps, and curses you with other's despair wherever you go, correct?" I didn't say anything, I felt like my vocal cords were frozen. "You want to change your predicament, right? Become stronger, and be able to help those who can't protect themselves." He tilted his head. "Including you, from what, exactly?"

I felt a sick tremor within myself, and I gulped down the lump in my throat. "I… want to protect myself… from my own despair… and I want to save others… from my despair…"

"Now you can," Kyubey went on. "You can change it all, all you have to do is make a wish, and the contract will be complete." I heard the bell ring in the background, signaling that lunch was over. "But if you don't wish to make a contract, you can return to the life you have now, and I'll move on." I turned towards the doors to the inside of the school. "I'll let you think about your answer." I turned back to Kyubey… but he was already gone. I went to the rest of classes, but all I could think about was my encounter with the creature named Kyubey.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: One Wish

After school, I went to the Mitakihara mall to get groceries. I bought food for one; my parents left for the airport this morning, they saw me off to school, but I knew they were gone. My parents have unusual jobs, but I don't know a thing about it. They never told me what their jobs were. As I left the grocery store, I saw newspapers listing all sorts of conflicts in the world; from wars to car crashes.

"I guess you start to notice how much despair there really is in the world when you start to look around." I said to myself as I walked to my neighborhood. My house used to belong to my aunt, my father's sister, Lee. She died four years ago, and in her will she left me, her 10-year old niece at the time, her large house and everything in it. I went there for a week three months after she died, but I haven't been to the house until now.

After about a year of legal debate, we were finally given the house legally. So I'm living there on my own.

There's a good reason, why I haven't been to the house in four years, but now's not the time to explain.

I unlocked the door, and my dog, Sirius the black German Sheppard, was waiting for me at the door. He barked happily and I patted his head.

"I'm glad you like the place," I said. "I love it too. I mean, I have some good memories here… even if I also have some bad ones here too." I looked around, the house seemed quiet. But unlike the first time I came here, it had a normal atmosphere instead of an ominous one. "Well," I took my shoes off and hung my bag on its respected hanger. "I'll get dinner going," I took the two bags of groceries into the kitchen.

The house was pretty big, too big for just one person and a dog to be living alone anyway. It was a two-story house, with many different rooms. Two were Japanese-styled rooms with two sliding doors and futons. There were many rooms; a dressing room, piano room, and the room I used to sleep in when I'd visit as a child. Everything was untouched, unmoved, and very, very, dusty.

I ate dinner, studied, took a shower, and began the challenge of picking which room to sleep in. There were six bedrooms out of at least twenty. I decided to stay in my aunt's old room. It had a huge bed, and the covers felt good, but sleep was the last thing on my mind.

I could only think about my encounter with Kyubey… and the possibility of making a wish and becoming a magical girl. What should I do? Should I make the contract? I could never tell my family of it, and I could die right? I'd be risking my life for complete strangers, and with no rewards.

But that's what I wanted right? I sat in bed with the lamp on and flipped through a manga magazine I purchased at the store; and found a manga about magical girls. I've always admired the magical girls in mangas and animes, they seem so brave and powerful… but they're like ordinary people. But then again, I'm not an ordinary person.

I sat reading the manga until my alarm beeped. I was up all night, but I wasn't tired in the least. I rolled out of bed, and I heard the phone in the dining room ring.

"Hello?" I asked.

"An-Mei?" It was mom. "How are you?"

I was a bit surprised. "I thought you weren't going to call until tonight? Did something happen?"

"Nothing really, the plane just has some air conditioning problems so we're just sitting here for a while."

"You shouldn't be using your phone on the plane," I scolded. "You could get in trouble."

"I know… I just wanted to make sure you were ok." She said. "I'm a bit worried about that house. Everything is ok, right? Your condition is ok?"

"Everything's fine." I reassured. "I took the medicine, and I feel ok."

"Ok good," she sounded genuinely relieved.

Then I thought of something. "Hey mom… can I ask you sort of a weird question with honesty?"

"Sure, what is it?"

I took a deep breath. "If you could wish for anything for yourself but in exchange you'd have to do something for others in return, would you make a wish?"

"Well…" I heard her hum to herself. It's a habit that I'm used to hearing. "I would make the wish in all honesty. But I'd wish for something that made me happy in return."

"Um… what about wishing to help others and yourself?" I asked. Because it's the only thing I could think of that would make me happy. "Is that a good wish?"

"I think it's a good wish." She agreed. "But what's all this about?"

"Oh! Uh…" I hated lying, but I couldn't tell her about the encounter with Kyubey. She would never believe me or she'd think it was a hallucination due to my illness. "It's for an essay, what would you wish for if you could wish for anything but have to do something in return and why."

"Oh…" mom seemed to believe me. "Well good luck with it. If you have any issues, just call with the number I gave you. But only in case of emergencies."

"Right…" I checked the time. "I've got to go, I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, love you, An-Mei."

"Love you too, mom, bye." I hung up and got ready for school.

When I went back to Mitakihara Middle, everything seemed fine… but when I rounded the corner and someone fell down the stairs. I yelped as body hit floor.

"A-are you ok?!" I cried. I thought for sure that they had broken their neck. It was a girl who seemed to be an eighth grader. She had short brown hair. She looked up at me and stared at me with golden brown eyes. I felt a sick tremor in my stomach as I looked at this girl's face, no… it couldn't be. "Are you ok?" I asked.

She smiled; it was a big happy smile. "Aren't you just the cutest thing okatakanashi?"

"O-Okatakanashi?" I asked. Okatakanashi means fun sized in Japanese.

The girl stood up, she was pretty tall. "Yep, you're so small its fun sized!"

I blinked. "Uh, okaaay…" I shook off that comment. "But, are you ok? You fell down the stairs!" I saw papers on the ground and scattered across the stairs. I heard the echo of students who were laughing. "Wait… were you pushed down the stairs?"

"Yup!" she replied.

"Don't act so happy about it!" I cried. "You could've broken something!" I looked at her up and down, but… not a single injury was visible. "You're… ok right?"

"Oh I'm fine!" the girl gathered up her stuff from the stairs. "I'll be ok, you don't need to worry!" She patted me on the head. "I've never seen you before, aren't you the new student from class E-1 right?"

"How did you know? Are you in my class?" I asked.

"Yup, but I don't show up to class a lot!" She said, with pride… for some reason…

This was a very weird conversation to be having with someone who fell down the stairs. And the way she looked… she looked like- no way… no way it's…

"Um…" I coughed a bit. "I-I'm An-Mei, by the way. An-Mei N. Bleuspider… hi."

"Nice to meet'cha, I'm Kirika Kure!"

None of us said anything, but I felt a sick tremor in my stomach again. "Do I… know you?"

She just smiled, and left without a word.

"Hey, wait!" I called after her… but she was gone. I felt my vision go hazy for a split second. "Ugh… stupid illness…" I visited the nurse's office and they gave me the medication douse I needed, and said I should go home.

"Exactly what illness do you suffer from?" the nurse asked, eyeing my medication.

"Depression," I said. "And doctors said that I might show early signs of dementia."

"I see…" the nurse gave me my medication back. "Well, make sure you take care of yourself, ok? And if you need to see me again, the nurse's aide for E-1 is Madoka Kaname."

"Right… thank you." I left without another word.

Due to the incident from five years ago and what happened a year after that. I have a tendency to… trip out? I dunno the proper term. But I sometimes see things that aren't there, hallucinations or delusions. I also have weird dreams, like being chased by a monster I can't see, or I have dreams of murdering people I don't know. Doctors chock it up to 'depression and a possibility of early dementia or psychosis'.

They dropped the psychosis thing a few years ago because of the results of a brain examination, but I am still debating if I'm crazy or not. I see people that aren't there, but they talk to me, and I talk back. Maybe I am crazy… after all I did talk to some weird cat-like creature yesterday. I don't know if he was real or if this is the work of early dementia.

But then again… that conversation did make sense however weird it was.

Wait what?! No way was that conversation real!

"I'm going crazy!" I said aloud to myself as I walked home through a park. "There's no way in reality that there's such things as witches or magical girls or ghosts or any of that!" I groaned and checked my temperature for a fever. "I'm sick… I'm crazy." I didn't run into Kyubey again that day. "I'm just some useless, crazy kid who hallucinates about the impossible." I stared at my feet as I walked forward. "I'm just a burden on others… nothing I think is real is real… I'm… I'm useless…" Yeah… I'm useless… because of me, an entire fifth grade class disappeared forever, even my aunt Lee… yeah…it's my fault… because I'm… weak… useless…

_mAyBE yOU sHOulD dIE_

Yeah… maybe if I died… no one would have to worry about me anymore…

_yES! yoU ShoULd jUSt dIe!_

Yes… I should just- wait… what am I saying?!

I snapped to attention; the world around me had changed; not in a normal way. The ground was covered in abstract paintings of people and the sky was a hazy red color that reminded me of that painting by Von Gogh called Starry Night.

"Where… am I?" I felt sick to my stomach and my vision was starting to darken around the edges. Something was wrong about this place, very wrong, and I was scared. "Hello?!" I turned a full circle, not another human being in sight.

And then it appeared.

Before materialized something of another world, something that should never have existed; it looked like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, but it had a name. It was spelled in Germanic Runes… but I could read them as if it were English.

Izabel

"What…?" I gasped as creatures came up from the ground.

Michaela

They had the body parts of people, but they weren't people. They were coming for me. "N-No, s-stay away..!" I scrambled backwards but I had no idea how I got here or how to get out. I fell backwards, and my body shook with fear. "N-NO!" I felt tears rolling down my cheeks, again. Goddamn it, am I going to die? Crying and shaking in fear?!

No… no, no, no, no, no… it can't end like this… I felt myself standing up, and I stopped shaking. Why? There's no hope, right? No… if they're going to kill me, they were going to work for it.

But then, the weirdest thing happened. I heard a gunshot, and the monsters exploded in a gust of hot air that smelled like decay. I covered my face and fell backwards again. When I opened my eyes, I saw… a girl.

She was standing between me and the monster, unshaken, unafraid. She wore something that looked like a commander in an army would wear; black coat, black skirt with a utility belt and a black captain's hat. She also had white gloves with a blue gem on the right hand. I couldn't see her face, but she had black hair.

"U-umm… I uh…" I was too shocked to make sense of words. But it didn't matter; the girl pulled out two guns from her utility belt and started shooting at the oncoming monsters. "What…?"

"She's a magical girl." said a familiar voice. I turned and saw Kyubey, sitting perfectly calm.

"It's you!" I cried. "Then…" I gave an astonished gasp. "I'm… I'm _not_ crazy? That conversation…"

"Yes, it was very real." Kyubey said, without blinking, of course. I turned and faced the girl again; she seemed to have combat skills beyond any army soldier… she seemed like the ultimate soldier even. "An-Mei," Kyubey interrupted my thoughts. "It's too dangerous for you to be here. You have to make a contract if you want to get out of here alive."

"What, right now?!"

"Yes, quickly!" Kyubey sounded… urgent… that was new.

"But, that girl seems to be-" But then, just as I turned to face the girl again, I noticed that she was starting to slow down, and the monsters named Michaela seemed to be increasing in numbers. "Oh no…" I gasped. There was no way she could fight off all of the familiars at once.

"That magical girl is going to die, An-Mei, you have to make a contract, now!" Kyubey cried.

"Die?!" I looked from the girl to Kyubey. "Can't you do something to save her?!"

"I can't," Kyubey responded. "I don't have the power to help that magical girl."

"But you can give people whatever they want, right?!" I cried as the girl took a huge hit to the chest and flew backwards a bit, but she still landed on her feet. Then, out of nowhere, she pulled out a machine gun and started firing.

"I can, but I can _only_ grant wishes." Kyubey said. "Listen, An-Mei, if you don't make a wish now, you're going to die here, and your body will disappear from this world forever."

"But what about that girl? She'll die too, right?!" I was scrambling to find a loop hole.

"Yes, but if you choose, you can save yourself and her." Kyubey was very frantic.

"Hey kid!" it was the girl. I turned to face her, and I saw her glaring at me with sharp, grey eyes. "This isn't some game this is a do or die. Win or lose!" She didn't seem to care if I made a contract or not, but… maybe she did care?

"But I _can't_ fight! I'm useless!" I begged. I didn't want to make this choice I was scared, yet again. "I… I don't know what to do!"

"Well, do something, or we're both going die." She was furious fighter. "Well?! How about it?! _Do you want to live, or die? The choice is yours!_" She yelled.

I felt like the world was moving in slow motion. What do I do?

It's just like before… the incident… I was standing before death, face to face, one choice could mean life or death.

One choice

One wish

Then... I heard a voice that wasn't mine, Kyubey, or the girl's.

"_Do you want to live? If so, you've got to make the hard decisions."_ Said an unfamiliar female voice. _"If you want to live... fight… fight!"_

Fight…. Fight….fight and win…. Or loose and die… the choice is yours…

I choose…. To …LIVE!

Just then, the tears stopped falling from my cheeks, my body stopped shaking; I'm starting to stand up again, sturdy and strong.

"Kyubey… I'm ready to make my contract…" My voice was just as steady as my voice.

"Quickly, tell me what you wish for!" Kyubey said, not as frantic, but still frantic.

I turned towards the girl, now struggling with the creatures, familiars. "I wish to be stronger, so I can protect myself and others from despair!" I faced Kyubey, adrenaline shooting through my veins like lightning. A red light started glowing from my chest. "That is my wish, so grant me this contract, Kyubey!" Kyubey's tassel-like ears reached upwards to the center of my chest, and then I felt a jerk of pain, but I refused to fall down again. I saw a red light with hints of gold flame appear before me.

"The contract is completed!" Kyubey's eyes reflected the light. "Now accept your wish, and fulfill your destiny!"

I enclosed my hands around the red light as if it were a red firefly. "I will…" Then I was engulfed in red and gold fire that flickered out quickly.

I felt powerful, unstoppable as I charged forward, faster than I've ever run faster before in my life, with a weapon I've never felt before. I screamed as I charged forward and swung at the monsters surrounding the girl, they were sliced to ribbons with a gust of wind. I felt in control… and I liked the feeling.

The girl was surprised. "So, you chose to fight…" She glared at the main threat; Izabel. "Then what are you waiting for?"

"Nothing," I said with a smile.

Then we both charged at the monster together, not so much we were working together, but it was a small alliance to defeat the same foe.

I swung my weapon at the beast and the magical girl fired at rapid speed. The monster couldn't defend itself, so it sent more familiars after us.

"Use magic, An-Mei!" Kyubey said. "You have Eternal Magic!"

I looked at my left hand; it was covered by a black glove, with a red cross slave pendent on it. I felt power surge within my left hand.

I don't know why, but it felt like I could control this power even though I've only had it for about a minute.

I held my weapon, a double bladed axe, with both hands and slammed it into the ground. Red and gold fire shot up from the ground and covered the witch with its heat. I heard a defining scream, it sounded human, but not human enough.

"Kill it while it's distracted!" I cried. I felt wind blow from behind me as the magical girl charged forward. She took a grenade from her utility belt, pulled the pin, and threw it. It exploded, but the witch wasn't dead yet. Damn thing, just hurry up and die already you monster!

"One final shot!" the girl shouted as skidded to my side.

"Well, we'll just have to charge at the same time." I looked into the girl's face.

She nodded and pulled a knife from her belt. "Well stop sitting around then, go!"

We charged at full speed, leapt into the air, and brought the final blow to Izabel with every ounce of strength we had. I heard a crack that sounded like something between bone and stone. But then there was a flash of light, and a rush of air that threw us both backwards. The girl landed on her feet, but I fell on my back.

I sat up and saw the monster, the witch, Izabel, explode into flame.

And it was no more.

The disoriented world shifted and took us back to reality.

I stood up and finally got a good look at myself; my uniform was gone, and in its place was a red vest with gold crosses on it, a black colored, sleeveless shirt, disconnected sleeves that went from my shoulder to my wrists, ending in black gloves, I wore a red and gold skirt over black shorts, black knee high boots with red laces. My head band was still red, but it had two gold crosses on both sides of my head. And finally, a red hooded cape with a black cross on its back and gold flame designs.

My axe was a long enough to be held with two hands, but not so terribly long, more like long enough to carry on my shoulder without touching me. Its blade was silver, with red and gold engraved into the metal and a gold cross on the tip of the pole.

"We… we did it…" I looked down at the slave pendent on my left hand; it was a gem in the shape of a cross that glowed red, gold and had hints of blue in it. "We defeated it!" Just as I said it, there was a flash of red and I was back to normal. Well, almost. On my left middle finger was a silver ring with a red stone in its center. Engraved in it was my first name in Germanic Runes; An-Mei.

"Yes, we did," The girl walked past me, as she did a blue light engulfed her and the magical girl was gone. Instead was a girl with black hair wearing a black blazer uniform, she looked like any other student. She reached to the ground and picked up a small item in the shape of a ball on a skewer. It had a trophy-like design on the top.

"What's that?" I asked.

"It's called a grief seed," Kyubey explained. "It's basically a witch's egg. But don't be afraid, it's safe in this form."

The magical girl tossed it to me. "Keep it, I don't want it." I caught it in both hands

"That's not a good idea," Kyubey remarked. "You've been neglecting grief seeds for a while now."

"Why are they important?" I asked.

"Hold out your soul gem." The girl instructed.

"Soul gem...?"

She rolled her eyes. "Hold out your left hand, palm up."

I did, and an egg shaped gem, like the girl's, appeared in the palm of my hand. Only it was red, like spider lilies. But, it had a cloudiness feeling to it.

"See how it's darker? Put the grief seed up to the gem." I did, and literally the darkness seeped out of my soul gem into the grief seed. "Now it's clean, you can use it one more time." The girl turned around. "My work here is done."

"Wait, I don't even know your name!" I cried.

She looked at me, her grey eyes piercing. "You don't need to know my name. I'm not important."

"But you helped me! You saved me!"

"I didn't _save_ you, I was going for the grief seed and you just happened to be there."

"Then…" I narrowed my eyes at the girl. "Then why did you tell me to fight back?"

She stared at me. "It's not in my best interest to help people who just so happen to walk into barriers. You just happened to be there, and I didn't want the grief seed to fall into the hands of the bitch of Kazamino. It would've been too annoying to know that she got another one of these things."

I just stared at the girl. "But, how do I thank you?"

"Don't thank me at all," the girl started walking away. "Because the next time we meet, we're enemies."

"What?! Why?!" I cried.

But she was already gone.

"Who was that?" I wondered out loud.

"That… was a very powerful magical girl." Kyubey responded. "But at the same time… I don't think she'll last much longer."

"Why?" I asked. "She seemed so powerful."

"An-Mei, despair and hope are at a balance. But there are the rare occasions where despair defeats hope. After all… despair _is_ contagious."

I looked around, but Kyubey was gone too. I stared down at my soul gem in one hand as it turned back into a ring, and then the grief seed in my other hand.

Despair and hope, live or die, kill or be killed.

This world… truly is cruel.


End file.
